More on the Anglican Meltdown
The Anglican Province of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Boliva) has issued a letter to the Episcopal church in the United States. It warns of "Impaired Communion" and also states that any missionaries sent to the Southern Cone will be required to affirm traditional Biblical beliefs regarding homosexuality.
You can read the letter here, but two things are noteworthy. First, the Primate of the Southern Cone warns one of the Episcopal bishops that they have departed from "faith once delivered to the saints". For those who are unaware, this is an extremely strong statement. I will quote Jude 1:3,4 for you:
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
The other thing that was interesting about this letter is the following quote:
In addition, you should know that many of us in the provinces you obviously consider to be of little consequence are also deeply offended at the arrogant, strident and unilateral action ECUSA has taken. This is doubly problematic because you personally have been so critical of your own government's failure to be collaborative in international affairs. Is stridence only a problem when you happen to disagree with the action and could you not at least have discussed your convictions and underlying principles with your fellow primates before the final steps were taken?
In other words, this is a stinging slap that says the Episcopal church in the U.S.A. feels free to criticize George Bush for unilateral action in Iraq, but feels free to take unilateral action on the issues they think are important.
It doesn't get a lot of press (at least, not a lot in the West), but the Anglican church has never before in it's history been so close to total fracture.
You can read the letter here, but two things are noteworthy. First, the Primate of the Southern Cone warns one of the Episcopal bishops that they have departed from "faith once delivered to the saints". For those who are unaware, this is an extremely strong statement. I will quote Jude 1:3,4 for you:
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
The other thing that was interesting about this letter is the following quote:
In addition, you should know that many of us in the provinces you obviously consider to be of little consequence are also deeply offended at the arrogant, strident and unilateral action ECUSA has taken. This is doubly problematic because you personally have been so critical of your own government's failure to be collaborative in international affairs. Is stridence only a problem when you happen to disagree with the action and could you not at least have discussed your convictions and underlying principles with your fellow primates before the final steps were taken?
In other words, this is a stinging slap that says the Episcopal church in the U.S.A. feels free to criticize George Bush for unilateral action in Iraq, but feels free to take unilateral action on the issues they think are important.
It doesn't get a lot of press (at least, not a lot in the West), but the Anglican church has never before in it's history been so close to total fracture.
posted by Shawn Abigail at 10:38 p.m.
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